MERYL Streep used her time on the Golden Globes stage to single out America's President-Elect Donald Trump.

Accepting the Cecile B DeMille Award for her illustrious career, the screen legend recounted a 'stunning' performance by Trump during his campaign.

"It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter...it kind of broke my heart when I saw it and I can't get it out of my head because it wasn't a movie; it was real life," Streep said.

"This instinct to humiliate… it filters down into everybody's life. It gives permission for everybody to do the same thing.

"When the powerful use the position to bully others we all lose."

Streep also spoke of the diversity within Hollywood, pointing out the varying backgrounds of more than half a dozen other actors in the audience.

"Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if you kick them all out then we'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not arts," she said.

Streep received a standing ovation and the hash tag #StandWithStreep has already taken off on social media.